Ancheng, the main hall of the county yamen. Li Si slowed his pace, his gaze looking into the hall with confusion, then turned his head to look at Xuan Yuanshan. Xuan Yuanshan was also astonished. Inside the hall, people were already waiting for the two of them, but it was not just Ge Chong from the Crown Prince’s residence alone—there were three people.

Two men and one woman. A brocade-robed man with eyes like an eagle or falcon, a young woman of peerless beauty in her prime, and another was a somewhat decadent, thin, small man.

Xuan Yuanshan first paid respects to the tall man with the eagle-falcon gaze, saying: “Lord Ge, half a year since we parted, your spirit remains as before.”

The tall man was around fifty years old—precisely one of the four great masters of the Crown Prince’s residence, “Sui” Ge Chong. The reason he earned the nickname of this single character “Sui” (Shattered) was said to be because his pair of iron fists could smash all things in the world to pieces. Ge Chong’s temples were already white. He nodded slightly and said: “Head Constable Xuan has also become increasingly valiant. This old man often hears the Crown Prince speak of you, praising how you repeatedly solve strange cases. Truly, the younger generation is formidable.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince praises me too much.” Xuan Yuanshan squeezed out a trace of a smile, but as Li Si had said, this smile did not look much better than crying.

Ge Chong shifted his gaze again, looking at Li Si. His eagle-falcon-like gaze suddenly deepened: “This should be the Fourth Great God-Catcher who exists only in rumors but never wishes to show himself much—Li Si, Head Constable Li.”

Li Si laughed dryly twice, bowed in salute and said: “Lord Ge is too kind. Li has no great abilities—to bear the title of God-Catcher in vain is truly something I dare not accept.”

Ge Chong smiled slightly and said no more.

Xuan Yuanshan looked at the two people beside Ge Chong and asked: “Lord Ge, these two are?”

“Oh, one gets old and forgets to introduce them to you. This young woman is my niece and also my recently accepted disciple. By the way, she has now also entered the Six Doors. In the future, she will still need to train well under Head Constable Xuan. Ling’er, quickly pay your respects to the two god-catchers.”

The young woman Ge Chong spoke of was precisely the green-clothed young woman who had appeared earlier at the chaotic burial mound on the eastern outskirts—Xue Ling’er. Hearing Ge Chong’s words, Xue Ling’er smiled cheerfully and bowed to Xuan Yuanshan, then raised her head and said: “Divine Catcher Xuan, I’m Xue Ling’er. Right now, I’m a small constable, but in the future, I’ll also become a female god-catcher.”

Xuan Yuanshan looked at Xue Ling’er, nodded somewhat at a loss. Ge Chong looked at Xue Ling’er with profound eyes. Xue Ling’er then turned her head to look at Li Si, shaking her head and saying: “Your name is Li Si. You’re also a god-catcher? I’ve never heard of you. A constable that I, Xue Ling’er, have never heard of can’t be very capable. It seems just as you said—your abilities are truly mediocre.”

Li Si smiled awkwardly: “Miss Xue, you’re right.”

“Head Constable Li, on the way to Ancheng, Ling’er intercepted a madman who intended to commit suicide. He’s right here.” Ge Chong’s gaze swept over the thin, small man in the hall.

Li Si, not understanding the situation, asked: “Who are you? Why did you want to commit suicide?”

The thin man hurriedly shook his head and said: “My lord, my lord, I didn’t want to commit suicide. This Miss Xue misunderstood. I didn’t want to commit suicide—there’s… something that wants to kill me!”

Li Si’s gaze tightened as he asked: “Who wants to kill you?”

“This.” Xue Ling’er interjected, taking out an item—a white-faced folding fan.

The thin man was indeed sent into the great prison. As Ge Chong had said, such a crazy, delirious person who did not know what he was saying or doing would be a danger if left on the street. Li Si agreed completely and, without another word, locked the thin man into the great prison.

Before being locked in the great prison, Li Si learned the man’s name—he was called Zhang Younian.

After dealing with this inexplicable madman, Ge Chong’s gaze swept over, looking at Xuan Yuanshan, saying indifferently: “Head Constable Xuan, the purpose of my coming to Ancheng this time—I needn’t say it, you should already understand. I already know of Zhan Xin’s death. Just now, I also went to see his corpse. But I still need an explanation, otherwise I cannot report back to the Crown Prince.”

“This…” Xuan Yuanshan showed difficulty.

Li Si interjected: “Lord Ge, Zhan Xin’s death is extremely similar to another murder case that occurred a few days ago. Li dares to affirm that there must be a connection between the two cases—it’s just that we haven’t found it yet. Please, Lord Ge, wait patiently for a few days. I estimate that the murderous killer is not content with silence and will strike again.”

“Oh? Another person has died. Who is it?” Ge Chong asked with apparent curiosity.

“‘Golden Swallow’ Nan Jian.” Li Si said.

Ge Chong pondered slightly and said: “I’ve also heard this person’s name when conducting secret investigations in Huainan. How did he die? Was he also killed by a golden needle piercing his eye?”

“No, he did not die beneath a golden needle, but was… literally scared to death!”

Hearing this, Ge Chong seemed startled. His gaze flickered as he looked at Li Si, sighing and slowly saying: “This world… is truly about to change.”

The next day, large red lanterns hung high—the lanterns were beautiful, the moon was beautiful, but people were most beautiful. At sunset in a corner of Ancheng, voices thundered. Walking on the main street, Li Si felt somewhat uncomfortable. His ears were filled with ceaseless clamorous sounds, and before his eyes, brightly colored figures constantly passed. Li Si felt somewhat dizzy. Xuan Yuanshan, watching from the side, asked: “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’ve been in Ancheng for so many days, and the people I’ve seen added together aren’t as many as I’ve seen tonight.” Li Si looked at the extraordinarily imposing residence of Ancheng’s magistrate, Huai Cheng, not far away and said.

“That’s because tonight you’re not marrying off your daughter. Perhaps when the day comes that you marry off your daughter, far more people will come than today.” Xuan Yuanshan rarely joked.

Li Si smiled bitterly: “Will there be such a day? Ha, but I really can’t imagine what Li Si’s daughter would look like.”

“Like you.” Xuan Yuanshan answered cleanly and decisively.

Outside the Huai residence, servants were already waiting, leading Li Si and Xuan Yuanshan into the Huai residence. The inner and outer courtyards of the Huai residence were very spacious. The pavilions and towers, while not magnificent, were quite distinctive, fresh and elegant. It seemed this Lord Huai Cheng, who had been recuperating at home due to serious illness for a long time, was still an elegant scholar. The residence was also hung full of red lanterns, but compared to the lanterns hung on the streets outside, these were larger, redder, more imposing. Under the reflection of dots of red light, the Huai residence was filled with joy and happiness, red light soaring to the sky.

In the wedding hall, Feng Cheng and the Huai residence’s people were enthusiastically greeting guests coming and going. All kinds of congratulatory gifts were piled in a corner side room, as high as a small mountain. Li Si placed his congratulatory gift properly and returned to the wedding hall. Feng Cheng had already raised his cup to usher Li Si and Xuan Yuanshan to the main seats. Huai Cheng stood up with a stiff, pale complexion, his face showing an apologetic expression as he said: “Head Constable Li, I’m truly sorry. I should have personally gone outside the gate to welcome you, but unfortunately, my old illness has worsened these past two days. Please, Head Constable Li, be magnanimous.”

Li Si shook his head and said: “Lord Huai need not be too courteous. This is already very good. With too many formalities, I would feel uncomfortable instead. I only ask that Lord Huai take good care of your health. Ancheng still awaits Lord Huai to preside over the overall situation.”

“Yes, yes.” Huai Cheng nodded. After speaking just a few sentences, he began coughing again.

What Li Si had not expected was that before long, Feng Cheng led Ge Chong and Xue Ling’er to the main seats. After Huai Cheng introduced them, it turned out Huai Cheng and Ge Chong were old friends and also fellow townsmen. Although Ge Chong had come to Ancheng for Zhan Xin this time, he also had the intention of congratulating his old friend in passing.

Xue Ling’er had a young girl’s temperament. Coming to a place with many people made her happy. She looked east and gazed west. If not for her beautiful appearance, she would be like a restless little kitten. Before long, the wedding feast began.

According to Ancheng custom, when newlyweds joined in matrimony, they needed to first hold the wedding feast. Only at daybreak the next day would they truly bow to each other in ceremony. At this moment, the pair of newlyweds also accompanied Huai Cheng’s side, moving among the various tables, toasting relatives and friends.

After drinking, Li Si secretly exhaled. He recalled having promised Lao Sitou and Wu Wen not to drink much, but tonight was a great joyous day, so naturally, he would break this rule.

Xuan Yuanshan, however, did not touch a drop of alcohol—only drinking tea, his gaze calmly watching everyone at the tables.

After three rounds of wine, quite a few people already showed signs of drunkenness. Suddenly, angry alarmed cries came from the entrance of the Huai residence. Huai Cheng slowly stood up and asked: “What’s happening?”

A servant replied with a panicked expression: “Someone has come to deliver a gift.”

“Why are you making such a fuss over someone delivering a gift?” Huai Cheng began coughing again.

“But, but this gift… it’s not a gift!”

A gift that was not a gift—this was inherently a contradictory statement.

Before long, Li Si saw this wedding gift—wrapped in a mass of brilliant red silk, beneath the red silk was actually an enormous pitch-black, cold coffin!

“This, this… outrageous!” Huai Cheng angrily shouted a sentence. His entire person fell backward and fainted.

Li Si slowly walked out from the main seats, circling around the red silk and black coffin twice. He lifted his foot and kicked up the coffin lid. Inside the coffin, a person lay quietly and peacefully. But this person… he was not a person!

A person who was not a person—wasn’t this ghost talk?

The gazes of everyone at the tables unanimously converged here. Inside the coffin, it was similarly wrapped with countless red silk cloths, encircling the person in the coffin. Although there was a person in the coffin, he had long been a dead person. All over his body flowed deep brown, extremely foul-smelling blood. His head was tilted back slightly, his mouth opened wide, a pair of eyes filled with terror, gazing emptily at the red lanterns floating above.

Li Si looked at the corpse in the coffin and only felt his back turn cold. Who was it? Who had delivered such a corpse to the wedding hall of newlyweds? Li Si turned to look at Huai Cheng. Could it be Lord Huai’s enemy? But at this time, Huai Cheng was unconscious, so Li Si had no way of knowing.

An unusually strong wind blew through the wedding hall, blowing all the red lanterns inside the residence into mid-air. The lamplight flickered bright and dim. Everyone’s faces were hidden in the red light between brightness and extinction. All the people in the wedding hall suddenly held their breath in unison, because everyone heard a sound. The sound itself was not important—what was important was that this sound clearly, distinctly came from inside that pitch-black, ice-cold coffin.

Everyone was watching, everyone was listening. Then, a hand suddenly extended out from inside the coffin…

“A ghost!” “The corpse is coming back to life!” Instantly, the wedding hall seemed to explode. Countless people fled outside holding their heads. You bumped into me, I collided with him—the number of people who fell and were trampled was countless. Li Si did not move. He quietly watched the coffin. The hand extending from inside the coffin was still there. That strange sound became increasingly clear—it was the sound of breathing! Just like a drowning person temporarily gaining a chance to gasp for breath, breathing weakly yet desperately.

Xuan Yuanshan’s gaze turned cold. Without saying a word, he walked toward the coffin. Not far away, Ge Chong hid Xue Ling’er behind him, a pair of palms gradually turning dark and heavy.

The people surging outward suddenly all stopped simultaneously. It was not that they suddenly gained courage, but rather, at this moment, the Huai residence’s main gate had disappeared… disappeared completely and utterly clean, not leaving a single trace.

People looked at me, I looked at you. In the mutual exchange of gazes, there were only two words—fear.

Fear cannot be conquered, because it does not exist externally but comes from within your heart.

People stood dumbly like stone pillars. Yet another strong cold wind blew past. The Huai residence’s lanterns were blown even higher and began to extinguish—one, two. Before long, more than half of the red lanterns were extinguished. At the same time, a seemingly present yet absent night fog began to appear, gradually enveloping the entire Huai residence.

Under the night fog, vision began to blur. Everyone could only rely on their hearing to sense their surroundings. Li Si was watching. He was closest to the coffin. From inside the coffin, a second hand arduously climbed out, followed by a nearly bald skull, and then a face—a face dripping with fresh blood. This face appeared before Li Si like this, its throat emitting an indescribable moaning sound, torturing Li Si’s ears.

Li Si stared at his face, his gaze gradually becoming inscrutable, suddenly saying: “You are—Zhan Xin?!”

“What, Zhan Xin?” Ge Chong flew over, landing between the coffin and Li Si. His gaze fixed on the blood-covered person crawling out of the coffin, murmuring: “You really are Zhan Xin? You still… haven’t died?”

Xue Ling’er in the distance, seeing such a bloody scene, had long since closed both eyes. But her innate curiosity made her quietly open a slit. Through the eye slit, she saw Zhan Xin, who had become a blood-covered person, struggling to climb out of the coffin.

But with each struggle, more blood flowed from Zhan Xin’s body. Li Si also saw clearly that at this moment, Zhan Xin, who had died and come back to life, had all his skin peeled off by someone.

Zhan Xin suddenly cried out loudly, his gaze looking at his feet with terror. Li Si said: “What’s wrong with you?”

Zhan Xin violently shook his head, reaching out to point at his feet inside the coffin. Li Si’s heart sensed something ominous and rushed forward, but it was still a step too late. Li Si only saw that inside the coffin, a pitch-black door slowly opened. A hand from inside the door was desperately pulling Zhan Xin into the door.

Zhan Xin fell into the door. When Li Si rushed over, the pitch-black door had already disappeared without a trace.

Yet another even stronger night wind roared and blew past, like a sharp dagger cutting across cheeks. All the lanterns in the Huai residence were blown out. When the wind sound stopped, the lantern in the very center of the wedding hall slowly opened a pitch-black door. A slender shadow walked out coldly from inside the door.

“Ah!” Li Si heard a shrill, miserable scream, and this scream came from the mouth of an impossible person beside him.

Li Si looked at the lantern swaying in mid-air, his gaze like needles wanting to penetrate it, saying in astonishment: “It’s actually, it’s actually… a cat?”